Matt Brennock's picks for business dining

Matt Brennock calls himself the “anti-foodie” and gripes that too many Chicago restaurants are “all about the scene.” He is managing partner/executive creative director of Momentum Worldwide, a Chicago-based global marketing agency owned by New York-based Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. He prefers entertaining after work because “people relax, take off their social mask and expose who they are.” Where he entertains clients, vendors and out-of-town colleagues:

Near his office in River North: Sable Kitchen & Bar for drinks and small plates. “I find more and more that people would rather graze and drink and talk.” If the lounge gets too noisy, he segues into the dining room. “The short rib entree ($11 half, $19 full), truffle butter burgers ($10 half, $18 full) and mac and cheese ($11) are to die for, but what a way to go.” The mixologists are inventive too, he says. One of them created the “Berry Cheeky Monkey” ($13) for him with Monkey Shoulder whiskey, cinnamon syrup, ginger ale and blackberries.

In River West: 694 Wine & Spirits. “It's in a little brick building that's real simple and low-key. It's not a scene like Gilt Bar or Girl & the Goat. We're renting it for our holiday party.” The wine, beer selections and small plates are excellent, he says. “I like grazing on the cheeses and meats, and they have a plate called 'butter and salt' ($8) that sounds crazy, but it's heaven.” Three artisanal butters and sea salts are served with sliced baguette. His drink: A riesling such as Murphy's Law ($9) in summer, a pinot noir such as Angeline ($10) in winter. “It's not so much a mixed-drink place.”

Also in River West: Paramount Room, which he calls “a hole-in-the-wall, no-frills kind of place with no 'pretty' people and the best burger in the city (Wagyu beef, $12). It's really intimate, just like 694.” (This “hole in the wall” also has a Michelin “Bib Gourmand” rating for the past three years, upscale bar snacks and a pastry chef.) With the burger: Wittekerke Belgian White ($6).